The invention relates to a skate boot such as used for ice skates or in-line roller skates and more particularly to a skate boot construction.
Typical skate boots are fabricated by assembling together previously die-cut pieces of textile material and shaping them over a last. Various pieces of textiles or fabrics are cut to specific patterns, which are then pre-assembled by stitching or gluing or both into a multi-layer construction. The rigidity and flexibility characteristics of the skate boot are defined by the various layers of materials being positioned and layered in specific regions of the pre-assembled component of the skate boot. The accumulation of pieces of material into layers and the mechanical properties of each piece of textile or fabric material define the overall dynamic behavior of the skate boot. Usually, the pre-assembled component further includes rigid components generally made of plastic to increase the rigidity of specific area of the skate boot. The pre-assembled boot generally consists of the back and sides of the skate boot and a toe cap and tongue assembly. The pre-assembled boot has the general configuration of the finished product but has not yet been shaped to the final form of the skate boot.
The pre-assembled component is positioned over a last and formed to obtain the shape of the desired finished product. A last is a three-dimensional shape of the inside cavity of a boot. The pre-assembled boot may be mounted upside down onto the last for ease of manipulation and assembly of the remaining components making up the skate boot. An insole is placed on the top part of the upside down last and the pre-assembled boot is stretched over the last and over the insole in order for the pre-assembled boot to conform to the specific shape of the last. The stretched material is then glued and nailed or tacked to the insole to maintain the desired shape. Once the upper part of the skate boot is completed, a rigid outsole is glued to the insole of the boot to complete the skate boot. An ice blade holder or an in-line roller chassis is finally mounted to the bottom of the boot to complete the skate.
This type of process is extensively used in the shoemaking industry. It generates a good product but has some disadvantages. For instance, the number of parts involved in the multilayer construction can be staggering; a conventional ice skate for hockey may have up to eighty parts to be assembled and shaped over the last. As a consequence, the manufacturing process is lengthy and complex. The nature of the assembly of parts is inherently labor intensive and slow as there are many manual tasks to be performed and many steps are necessary to complete the footwear. The considerable number of elements to be assembled entails an increased risk of errors, particularly in the alignment of the various pieces of the pre-assembled boot, which contributes to an increase in the number of rejected boots or skates in the manufacturing process or at least, a reduction in the quality of the overall production. This traditional process of making skate boot also requires several molds and cutting dies to produce all the pieces necessary for making the pre-assembled boot.
In an effort to reduce the number of components used to make a skate boot, these are sometimes made of an exterior plastic molded shell. However, skate boots made of molded plastic tend to be stiff and/or cumbersome, do not perform as well as traditionally made skate boots and for that reason, have not found wide acceptance amongst professional hockey players. U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,276 to Bourque discloses a skate boot made of a combination of plastic and fabric material. The skate boot disclosed consists of a lower exterior molded rigid plastic portion and intermediate and upper portions made of pliable material to allow forward flexure and torsional flexibility in the ankle area.
These designs effectively reduce the number of components utilized in the manufacturing process of a footwear or skate. However, the end product is usually stiffer than a traditionally made skate boot and represents a compromise in the area of performance.
Thus there is a need in the industry for a skate boot made of fewer components than the traditionally made skate boot yet provides a skate boot that performs as well as a traditionally made skate boot.
Furthermore, skates using typical skate boots made of conventional textile or fabric materials using the conventional lasting method perform well for some time but have a tendency to develop creases around the ankle area and deteriorate over time. The material used in the making of a typical skate boot deteriorates with time and eventually fails to provide the adequate support necessary for optimal skating performance. Conversely, skates having skate boots made of molded rigid plastic may not wear out as quickly as skates using typical skate boots but they do not provide the flexibility of a typical skate boot.
Thus there is also a need for a skate, which provides flexibility and durability as well as optimal performance.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a skate boot made of fewer components than a traditionally made skate boot.
It is another object of the invention to provide a skate boot having elastic dynamic behavior.
It is another object of the invention to provide a skate which provides flexibility and durability.
It is another object of the invention to provide a skate boot construction which is less labor intensive and more cost effective to build than a traditionally made skate boot.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of making a skate boot, which is more cost effective than the traditional method.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a skate boot having an upper for enclosing and supporting a human foot. The upper comprises:
a heel counter for surrounding the sides and back of the heel portion of a human foot;
an ankle support for surrounding and supporting the ankle region of a human foot:
a medial quarter and a lateral quarter for enclosing each side of a human foot, each quarter having a frontal edge, the medial and lateral quarters extending forwardly from the heel counter and the ankle support. The quarters define respective medial and lateral side of said skate boot;
bridging means for joining said quarters together at the heel counter and the ankle support;
an insole forming the bottom of the upper;
a toe box for covering the toe area of the human foot, which is connected to the frontal edges of the lateral and medial quarters;
a tongue extending upwardly and rearwardly from the toe box for covering the upper frontal part of the human foot and ankle; and
a rigid outsole defining the under side of the skate boot;
wherein at least one of the lateral and medial quarters consists of a preformed molded panel made of foam material having an inner surface and an outer surface wherein the inner surface of the panel is shaped to substantially conform to the anatomical shape of a corresponding side of the human foot.
Preferably, each said lateral quarter and medial quarter consists of a preformed molded panel made of foam material having an inner surface and an outer surface wherein the inner surface of said panel is shaped to substantially conform to the anatomical shape of a corresponding side of the human foot.
Advantageously, the outer surface of the preformed molded panel comprises a protective textile overlay made of synthetic material resistive to abrasion and cutting.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention further provides a skate boot having an upper for supporting and enclosing a human foot, the upper comprising:
a heel counter for surrounding the sides and back of the heel portion of a human foot;
an ankle support for surrounding and supporting the ankle region of a human foot;
a medial quarter and a lateral quarter for enclosing each side of a human foot, each quarter having a frontal edge, the medial and lateral quarters extending forwardly from the heel counter and the ankle support. The quarters defining respective medial and lateral side of the skate boot;
an insole forming the bottom of the upper;
a toe box for covering the toe area of the human foot, which is connected to the frontal edges of the lateral and medial quarters;
a tongue extending upwardly and rearwardly from the toe box for covering the upper frontal part of the human foot and ankle; and
a rigid outsole defining the under side of said skate boot;
wherein at least a substantial portion of the upper comprises a preformed molded element made of thermo-formable foam material shaped to a definitive shape.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention further provides a method of making a skate boot comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a foam quarter panel by molding a sheet of foam material;
(b) assembling to said foam quarter panel, a rear cover, an inner lining, an insole, a toe box and a tongue to form a skate boot upper; and
(c) affixing an outer sole to the under side of said skate boot upper.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, two foam quarter panels are formed by molding sheets of foam material, one medial foam quarter panel and one lateral foam quarter panel, said foam quarter panels being assembled together at the rear prior to the step of assembling to said foam quarter panels, a rear cover, an inner lining, an insole, a toe box and a tongue to form a skate boot upper. The skate boot upper preferably includes a lower skirt wherein the preferred embodiment of the method further comprising the steps of:
(i) positioning said skate boot upper over a last;
(ii) shaping over the last said skate boot upper by folding said lower skirt of said upper underneath said insole and fastening said skirt to said insole; prior to affixing an outer sole to the under side of said skate boot upper.
Preferably, the step of forming a foam quarter panel by molding a sheet of foam material comprises the steps of:
(a) positioning the sheet of foam material into a male-female mold and closing the mold;
(b) applying heat and pressure to the sheet of foam material;
(c) thermoforming at least a portion of the sheet of foam material to the shape of the male-female mold;
(d) cooling the portion of the sheet of foam material in a compressed state so that the portion of the sheet of foam material sets in the shape of the male-female mold; and
(e) opening the male-female mold and removing the molded foam quarter panel from the mold.